Blueprints
by cherryakabebe
Summary: A regular day in the lives of Isabella and Ferb at the age of 14. Ferbella.


Blueprints

"Would you like to go to the library with me?" Isabella Garcia-Shapiro found herself asking Ferb Fletcher one afternoon.  
At 14, she had realized that cultivating her friendship with both brothers was in her best interest and that Ferb, though he was a man of few words, always had something interesting to add to a conversation. Isabella had gotten into the habit of texting him twice a week and asking him to accompany her places on the weekends. She didn't favor either brother, not since she had grown out of her crush on Phineas, but she found that splitting her time between the two was a better investment during the seasons that weren't summer.  
Ferb, for his part, was pleasantly surprised when his adorable neighbor from across the street decided to take an interest in developing their friendship. In his childhood his role had been an introspective look on Phineas and his obliviousness and he did his best to comfort her. When they were 10, Phineas was too busy with his inventions to entertain the idea of romance. At 14, while more astute and attuned to feelings of the romantic nature, Phineas remained largely the same when it came to people with feelings for him.  
On the particular morning that Isabella woke up and made her way to the Flynn-Fletcher household with the intent of finding Phineas and telling him how she felt, Isabella found a nearly empty house with a Ferb contemplatively staring at his cereal box. This had not boded well with her and she took this as a sign that the universe had decided that she and Phineas Flynn were not written amongst the constellations. With a silent nod of understanding, Ferb opened up a box with instant hot chocolate and allowed her to vent, unknowingly sedimenting his importance in Isabella's life.  
"Let me put away my blueprints," his voice filled the silence. Although he still struggled with voicing his thoughts, he had gotten more comfortable with his group of friends and had managed to say more than one thing a day. It was difficult waiting for the right time to insert a witty quip on a daily basis.  
Isabella nodded and made herself busy by taking a seat on the bench next to him and glancing over at the aforementioned blueprints. Hanging around the boys for years had made the blueprints less foreign but she still had a hard time deciphering some of the symbols and drawings that they used.  
"Summer," Ferb quietly explained and she understood that he meant that he was working on blueprints for the upcoming summer. She smiled at him because it was the middle of fall and it was a very Ferb thing to do and prepare almost a year in advance.  
He found himself returning her smile and she made herself busy by humming a song that they had all sang earlier in the summer. It wasn't until he had gotten up and had offered her a hand that she realized that he had cleaned his desk and had stored the blueprints away.  
Gracefully, she took his hand and he pulled her to her feet with a spin. She giggled and allowed him to pull her towards the sidewalk that lead to the Danville Public Library. In her childhood, she mused, holding hands with Ferb had been a pleasant mistake. Now, it was reassuring and a way to convey his affection for her since words often failed him. They were best friends afterall.  
"So, how's your weekend been going?" Isabella asked trying to get her mind off of their clasped hands.  
He looked at her as if to say _I've been working on blueprints all weekend. It's been productive_. Squeezing her hand, he returned the question.  
"Well actually," she began, "Ginger called me yesterday and you'll never guess who she saw Bufor-"  
"Ferb?" came a voice from the ice cream shop to their left.  
While Ferb didn't visibly tense, there was a moment where his hand went lax within hers and she whipped her head to look at what had phased the normally stoic genius. To her knowledge, Ferb had only been in love once and the only reason that Isabella was aware of this fact was because Ferb had once mentioned in passing that he understood how she felt in regards to her situation with Phineas. This had been when they were 12.

Looking at the woman in front of them, Isabella knew that this was _the_ Vanessa Doofenshmirtz that Phineas liked to tease his brother about. She was beautiful and confident and in love with the boy whose arm was wrapped around her waist. After years of comfort from Ferb, she did her best to reciprocate and traced small circles around his hand with her thumb. She hoped they were soothing.

"Hello, Vanessa," he gave her a small smile and turned to her companion with a nod. "Monty."

Monty smile, obviously pleased at the recognition. "What's up, Ferb? We haven't seen you around in a long time," Monty asked, making small talk. He was obviously unaware of Ferb's past feelings.

"He's been busy with his blueprints," Isabella found herself replying in Ferb's place. "It's a miracle I managed to drag him out today. I'm his friend Isabella, by the way." Suddenly increasingly aware of their clasped hands, she let go to shake the couples'.

A chorus of "Nice to meet you"s greeted her outstretched hand, followed by two handshakes. When she was done, Ferb rejoined their hands before hers could fall to her side. Vanessa smiled knowingly at the gesture and nudged Monty. He quirked an eyebrow and smirked.

"Well, we won't keep you two from you plans," Vanessa quickly interjected. "It was nice seeing you, Ferb! Don't be a stranger."

Ferb nodded and with a quick wave continued to pull Isabella towards the library.

"Are you okay?" Isabella found herself asking.

For his part, Ferb was confused by her question. He looked at her as if to say _Why wouldn't I be?_

"Oh don't give me that look! I'm just asking because you used to be in love with her and that's obviously her significant other and I don't know it's a weird situation." She threw her free hand up in frustration.

"Isabella, I haven't been in love with Vanessa Doofenshmirtz since she started dating Monty. They're good for each other. Besides, I'm too young. The timing would never be right."

"So you just moved on?" she asked, gaping at him. She knew he showed incredible self control when it came to his emotions, but love was difficult to just turn off.

He shook his head. _Not in the way you're thinking._

Raising her eyebrows, she prompted him to explain.

He shrugged and laughed when she playfully hit him in frustration. "I didn't just turn it off. I worked through it until I realized that my relationship with her was still important and I loved her but I wasn't in love with her. That's made all the difference."

Isabella had been so engrossed in their conversation that she hadn't realized when they had reached the library until Ferb let go of her hand to open the door. "You know Ferb, you're probably the most amazing person I've ever met," Isabella found herself saying.

With tinged cheeks he accepted her compliment and returned it with a nod that told her that she was probably the most amazing person he'd ever met.

And just like that Isabella felt a shift in their relationship. Surprisingly, it wasn't necessarily unpleasant or unwelcome. It just was. Smiling brightly, she offered Ferb a hand. When he reached to take it, as holding hands with Isabella was as second nature now as his tools, she gently intertwined their fingers.

He quirked an eyebrow and took in her newfound demeanor. She was still smiling at their hands, but it had softened and her cheeks were now dusted pink.

"Would you like to get ice cream after this, Isabella?" Ferb found himself asking.

"I would actually like that a lot, Ferb." She replied warmly.


End file.
